


Birthday Traditions

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Humor, Smarm, challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-26
Updated: 2006-03-26
Packaged: 2019-02-02 08:46:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12723357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: SG-1 has gathered a few traditions on how to celebrate birthdays.





	Birthday Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

"MOM! SAM'S HERE!" Cassie Fraser yelled up the stairs.

With a laugh, Dr. Janet Fraser poked her head out of the bathroom and called, "I'll be down in a minute!"

Major Sam Carter chuckled and walked into the living room where her eyes landed on a small pile of presents. "Holy Hannah, Cassie! Went a little overboard didn't you?"

Cassie grinned and flopped onto the couch. She picked up a Playstation controller and hit the pause button to resume the game of Tomb Raider she'd been playing. "We like shopping," she said matter-of-factly.

Sam understood completely. While she normally wasn't interested in spending much of her precious free time scrounging through a mall, she did enjoy her annual July shopping trip. To her it seemed like the gifts she always bought and gave in July were more important than almost any others. But then, they were for Daniel, and he was a man who knew how to enjoy a present. Sam smiled as she thought of the automatic delighted smile that would appear on Daniel Jackson's face with every gift he was given. He didn't even have to unwrap a gift before he was already drowning the giver in thank-yous. And it didn't matter if the gift was the latest best seller or an antique Daniel always treasured it.

Sitting down in her customary chair Sam thought about what it was that made all gifts so precious to Daniel. After losing his parents at the age of 8 he never regained that sense of security that a set of loving parents can give. Like she was after her mother's death, Daniel seemed to be lost for many years finding solace in nothing but his studies and his work. Perhaps she exaggerated to an extent since she'd heard many stories about Daniel's wilder days in college, but at least by then he'd managed to leave behind some of the grief. While he moved from foster home to foster home it wasn't so easy - not that he would ever complain about it. In fact he rarely said a word about his time in foster care. The only thing Sam really knew was that from the time Daniel turned nine until his eighteenth birthday it seemed as if July 8th was a day no one remembered. His birthday was ignored or dismissed every year. The first time anyone seemed to care about his birthday was when a small group of college friends stole his driver's license to determine his birthday and throw him a surprise party. Ever since then Daniel loved birthdays. He went out of his way to acknowledge and celebrate every one of his friends' birthdays but he still seemed a little bit at a loss as to how to handle his own birthday.

Through the past few years Sam had watched Daniel get a little bit antsy when his birthday rolled around. That first year he hadn't even told anyone when his birthday was, and only Colonel O'Neill thought to check his file, but the day was already two months past. That didn't stop Sam, Janet, or the Colonel though. Two months late they still drug Daniel out to dinner and explained the custom of birthdays to Teal'c so he could also enjoy and take part in the celebration. Everyone celebrated just a bit too much that night, but at least Daniel started calling Sam by her first name after that. Since then celebrating team birthdays were a tradition.

"OK, I'm ready when you are," Janet said as she entered the room. "Are you sure you don't want to go with us, Cassie?"

Without glancing away from the TV screen Cassie answered, "Nah. Go have fun and hug Daniel for me."

Janet grinned, "I think I can handle that." Gathering up the small pile of packages, Janet inclined her head towards the purse that was lying on the dining room table. "Will you get that for me?"

"You know if you need some help with all that..." Sam trailed off with a smile as she crossed the foyer into the dining room. 

"Just get my purse and come on," Janet ordered good-naturedly.

"Yes, Ma'am." Sam opened the door for the small doctor and called a goodbye to Cassie before following Janet out to her car. 

Janet put the presents in the car then smirked at Sam, "And you think Cassie and I bought too much?" There were easily seven presents of varying sizes in the back seat of Sam's car.

Looking a little embarrassed Sam said, "I cleaned out a closet and found some I meant to give him over the years. Besides, you only turn 37 once."

The sounds of U2's Joshua Tree could be heard from the street and Sam wondered exactly where Jack and Daniel were to need the music so loud. "Do you think they have a clue that the kids three houses down are playing air guitar to U2 at the moment?"

Janet laughed and made her way up the driveway. "If they did I think those two would congratulate themselves on their good influence."

Without knocking Sam and Janet walked into Jack's house and deposited the presents on the coffee table where the mountain of gifts was already started. Daniel had started the multiple gift tradition when he started giving two presents for every birthday. One would be a serious thoughtful gift, while the other was always completely outrageous and often hilarious. For Sam's last birthday Daniel had given her a very realistic silk leafed tree with a bright red bow wrapped around the terra cotta pot the tree was "planted" in. It wasn't until she'd looked closer at the "blooms" that Sam realized it was a condom tree. Her reaction to the present had sent Daniel into a fit of gleeful laughter that didn't stop even as Sam very unprofessionally chased him through the corridors of the SGC to get him back for it.

"You think they've already started?" Janet asked when no one came to join them in the living room.

Sam nodded, "More than likely. Would explain why the stereo's turned up so loud."

Heading through the house and out onto the deck, Sam scanned the yard for the Colonel and Daniel. She grinned when she saw Teal'c coming towards them. "Major Carter, Dr. Fraser, O'Neill and DanielJackson are hard at work already. Your assistance would be appreciated I am sure." 

"Well let's get to it then," Janet said with a clap of her hands. She bounded down the deck stairs and started across the yard without bothering to look behind her to see if Sam and Teal'c were coming. Through all the traditions she and the members of SG-1 had started for celebrating their birthdays she liked this one the best. The empty lot behind Jack's house went up for sale two years before and Daniel had bought it in order to have some type of deduction on his taxes. Rather than building a house there he'd asked for suggestions on how to use the land. Jack suggested making a playground for the neighborhood kids and Daniel had wholeheartedly accepted the idea. After talking it over with the others it was decided that on each of their birthdays, or as close to it as possible, the team would donate and assemble a piece of playground equipment. Today the last piece would be assembled and the lot would be turned over to the city. Daniel joked about how he would need to find a new tax deduction now, but it was easy to see that he was pleased by what they were doing.

"How's it coming, Fellas?" Janet asked as she reached Daniel. Jack was nowhere to be seen.

Daniel turned and grinned, "Hey Janet! So far so good, but we didn't have the right type of wrench or something. Jack had to go borrow one from Mr. Lipniki down the street."

Janet looked at the large bolts and colorful pieces of PVC piping on the ground and nodded. "Plumber's wrench?"

"I guess," Daniel answered with a grin. "Jack said he needed a big 'honkin' wrench and took off down the street. We're sort of at a stand still until he gets back."

Janet nodded then looked past Daniel's shoulder. "I think someone wants to ask you a question."

"Huh?" Daniel asked as he turned. When he saw two little girls standing politely on the sidewalk he smiled, "Hello."

"Hi Dr. Daniel," one of the girls said shyly, "Can we come over and play?"

Janet hid a short laugh at Daniel's expression behind her hand before she waved for him to answer the little girl.

"Uh, well..." Daniel was used to the question, the kids in the neighborhood always asked to come play when they started putting up a new piece of equipment. After the first simple tire swing was erected the children knew this was going to be a place for them, and they were delighted. But on the days the team worked on the equipment Daniel was always nervous about having kids around. He didn't want them to get hurt because of the tools, nails, and other things just sitting around on the ground so he often shooed them away with the promise that they could play as soon as the team was finished. "How about later okay? When we're done you'll have a whole tree house to play in, but wait till we're done okay?"

The girls' faces burst into wide happy smiles and they chorused, "Ok, Dr. Daniel!" Together they ran off to spread the news about what was being added to the playground.

"You gave away the surprise, Danny!" Jack exclaimed as he headed towards them. "The Riley girls are telling everyone that'll listen about the tree house."

"They'd figure it out on their own, Sir. That platform could only be one of two things, and I doubt you'd be constructing a hunter's tower in the middle of a park," Janet said with a grin.

"Uh, no." Jack answered immediately, not quite amused by the image of a camouflaged hunter sitting in wait for prey in the middle of their playground.

The day was long, hot, and filled with laughter, hammering and curses. Teal'c managed to get a sizeable splinter under his fingernail while Jack had a tendency to hammer his thumb almost as often as he hammered nails. Sam proved once more that she was a wiz with a screwdriver and socket wrench, and Daniel scrambled around tree branches like the monkey he was so aptly nicknamed for delivering tools, supplies, and water. When he wasn't climbing the tree he and Janet put together the PVC slide that would be attached to the side of the tree house later that day.

With the sun setting behind them the five friends stepped back and admired the large tree house they'd built. It was Daniel's choice, rather than the jungle gym Sam had suggested. Daniel was adamant that the kids have a tree house saying wistfully that he'd always wanted one. "Ya done good, Danny," Jack said as he clapped Daniel's shoulder.

Daniel smiled, "We did good, Jack. This wouldn't have been possible without all of us. We all gave the time and the money to put it together."

"Yeah, but it was started and finished on your birthday. Kinda makes it seem more like yours than ours," Jack rationalized.

It was easy to see that Daniel didn't agree but instead of arguing with his friend, Daniel just smiled and looked back at the tree house. "It's wonderful."

"That it is, but we still have a celebration to get to, you know," Sam said with a grin.

"Oh! Yeah!" Daniel's face lit up with the added excitement of presents, pizza, and most importantly dessert.

They shared beers and stories while they waited for the pizza to arrive as well as let Daniel open a few of the presents. He'd just unwrapped a large box from Teal'c when he burst out laughing and reached into the box. What he pulled out made the others join in his laughter. The tag read "Curious George" but the name George was scratched out and in Teal'c's precise handwriting Daniel was written. Curious Daniel was a brown and cream-colored monkey in a space suit. "I did not believe the name George fit this creature," Teal'c said seriously, but one corner of his mouth twitched upward.

"Spacemonkey!" Jack howled, "Yeah!"

The laughter and light hearted atmosphere continued throughout the night as Daniel opened the rest of the presents. Amid the usual sweaters, shirts, and CDs, were touching gifts like a hand drawn and then painted portrait of the team Cassie did herself, and a scrapbook Janet put together with comments and stories from several members of the SGC. Jack was thoroughly satisfied by Daniel's stunned expression when he opened the small box that held a copy of a script from the original Star Trek series that was signed by the entire cast. 

"No one who tries to keep us to the Prime Directive as much as you do can NOT be a Trekkie," Jack said in answer to Daniel's unanswered question of how Jack knew he was a fan.

"Trekker," Daniel finally corrected with as much dignity as he could muster. "We're called Trekkers, not Trekkies."

The get together could have gone long into the night, but the combination of working in the hot Colorado sun all day and the following day of meetings and physicals called the party to a halt much earlier than normal. After exchanging hugs with Sam and Janet and a strong forearm shake with Teal'c Daniel and Jack saw the trio on their way home. Sam would take Teal'c back to the base after she'd dropped Janet off. Daniel helped Jack clean up the wrapping paper and pizza leftovers before they headed for their rooms. The guest room still held some clothes Daniel kept forgetting to take home so it was unofficially his room. In the hallway Daniel touched Jack's arm getting his attention, "Jack, thank you. Thank you for everything."

Jack smiled and squeezed Daniel's shoulder. "You're welcome." He knew Daniel wasn't just thanking him for the presents, or for spending his birthday with him. The thanks were for all the things Jack had done for him over the years. The time, the effort, the sheer want to be his friend, they were gifts that the young archeologist truly treasured and Jack knew he could offer the same thanks but there was no need. Daniel already knew how he felt and that was enough. "Happy Birthday Daniel."


End file.
